Remember that endless round of complaints about the reaction to the flu shot and the cough and the fever and all that other gunk I've posted previously?

Yeah, well it never really went away, it just changed its mode of attack. Last Monday, I noticed when I hefted my work bag to go home, that my left side hurt. Could this have been from all those coughing jags I'd had earlier? If that was it, it struck me that it was a little late; my bouts of coughing had pretty much calmed down, even if I still had a sore throat. The worst part was when I did cough; sometimes it really hurt, so I learned to hold my left side when I did. Holding my side seemed to keep my side from feeling like it was about to pop out. The pain didn't keep me from sleeping or doing anything, but it ached constantly and was wearing me down day by day.

Anyway, since my birthday was coming up, it meant the car tag renewals were due, and that meant inspections had to be done. So Tuesday I took Twilight to the mechanic to get the oil changed and the inspection done. I need two tires and my front brakes are at 30 percent, so that will need to be done after the first of the year, although Mike told me if I don't drive too much it will be okay for while. Wednesday my chair at work made the pain in my side worse (this is the "$1600 ergonomic chair" that is one of the most uncomfortable chairs I've ever sat in) and the ride home made it worse.

Now Thursday we had planned to have James telework so I could take the truck to get its oil changed and get inspected. But there were "suits" in his office this week and there was no teleworking. So Thursday I woke up early, took James to work, then took the truck to the mechanic. At eleven I went to the dentist. Yes, I finally have all my teeth deep cleaned and will need to go for a followup in February. (Yeah, I still have the tooth with the recission. If it doesn't bother me, I'm going to leave it, because it requires oral surgery.) Later in the afternoon the truck was ready, so they came to pick me up. I got out of the pickup truck they transported me in, forgot to hold my side when I coughed—oh, dear God! I thought I ruptured something because there was this hot, sharp new pain that hurt when I breathed. I didn't just see stars, I saw constellations, and I think Pluto was in there somewhere. There was now a permanent, painful knot in my left side just to the left of my breast. I was gasping so much even Mike asked me what was wrong.

Julie (my dental hygenist) had said I really should call the doctor even if the pain wasn't bad, since I was starting to wonder if I had a kidney stone. Well, after the cough, it seemed expedient.

So I went to that appointment at nine this morning. Dr. Jones said she works fast, and boy, did she mean it. When I wondered if it was a kidney stone she said bluntly "Are you seeing blood when you urinate? Does it hurt when you urinate?" and my answer was no to both. She said if the pain I was describing was a kidney stone, I would have either or both of those signs and I wouldn't be able to sit in the chair I was currently sitting in. She probed the area, listened to my lungs, and said while it didn't sound like I had pneumonia, she wanted to rule out that or a cracked rib from my previous coughing. I expressed surprise; as I said, the pain began pretty much after the coughing jag was over. She said it could have started during the coughing jag but worsened afterward.

So down I went for an x-ray. I wasn't there five minutes before the technician came out and said the x-ray machine was down and we'd have to wait 45 minutes. The other people waiting said they could reschedule, but I couldn't. So I sat to wait; a nice nurse got me a cup of water. Then he came back out and said the x-ray was down for the count. So I went back upstairs to see what Dr. Jones wanted me to do. I was no sooner talking to her than her nurse's head popped in. The x-ray machine was working again! So back downstairs I went, but I did finally get the x-ray, and then had to wait.

By this time it was after 11 and I was starving. Luckily I found a watermelon candy in my pouch. Finally, back to the doctor. No pneumonia, no cracked ribs. She thinks it is just extreme muscle pain from the past and present coughing. She is bothered by the fact that I had a low grade fever (99.2) upon checking in, my blood pressure was low (99/55), and I still had the cough, even if it wasn't as violent these days. So it's another course of antibiotics, cough medicine, and steroids for the pain. If it isn't better by next week, back I go.

My left side was really hurting after all those trips upstairs and downstairs, but I decided to salvage the day. I had lunch at Tin Drum and swilled the first three of the course of steroids, and then went out to the Apple Annie craft show. On my first shot, I got irritated at the two police officers they had directing traffic. I could clearly see empty spaces in the parking lot and three cars left while I was turning around, but they were tenaciously guarding the "lot full" sign. I was hurting too much to drive the two miles to the other church where the shuttle was operating, so I grumped back to Trader Joe's to pick up more of the gingerbread bars we bought on Sunday. They must have been popular because there were only about seven packages left!

By the time I'd eaten one, I figured I'd driven all this way in super-annoying traffic and I might as well try to get in. So I went past the supercops to the front entrance; as usual the right hand didn't know what the left was doing and there out front the "Lot Full" sign and orange cones were pushed to the side. I found someone just backing out.

There was a huge number of jewelry dealers this year. In each of the classrooms, there was at least one jewelry dealer, plus more in the gym and in the parish hall. It was a bit overwhelming. I bought a little ceramic dish for James' tea strainer and spoon, and, in a fit of whimsy, one of the items they were selling for the missions, a wonderful pashmina in autumn colors. I also ran into Claudia Barbour, who I hadn't seen since last year's Apple Annie. She has bought property in Toccoa!

So when I get home I discover La-Z-Boy has called to give us a preliminary time for our chair delivery. Unfortunately the little robot lady giving the number to call dropped one of the digits. I called La-Z-Boy, but all the nice lady who answered the phone could do was send an e-mail to the delivery people. They didn't call back again. That means we'll just have to wait around all day tomorrow for the chair. Gee, thanks.

I was wiped out and fell asleep in the spare room. We ordered dinner in and I had another steroid. I've had four now and it's amazing how much it has already helped the pain. It's definitely not gone but I can take a deep breath without wanting to scream. In the meantime, watched a Christmas episode of QI thanks to Britbox and tonight's Hawaii Five-0.

Labels: Christmas, errands, health, shopping, television

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